0:00:01.223,0:00:06.188 My journey away from violent extremism[br]began 22 years ago, 0:00:06.212,0:00:08.159 when I denounced racism 0:00:08.183,0:00:10.967 and left the American white[br]supremacist skinhead movement 0:00:10.991,0:00:12.351 that I had helped build. 0:00:12.707,0:00:17.769 (Cheers and applause) 0:00:18.780,0:00:21.365 I was just 22 years old at the time, 0:00:21.389,0:00:25.442 but I had already spent eight years,[br]from the time I was 14 years old, 0:00:25.466,0:00:27.680 as one of the earliest[br]and youngest members 0:00:27.704,0:00:32.233 and an eventual leader within[br]America's most violent hate movement. 0:00:32.881,0:00:35.659 But I wasn't born into hate; 0:00:35.683,0:00:38.694 in fact, it was quite the opposite. 0:00:40.067,0:00:43.118 I had a relatively normal childhood. 0:00:43.771,0:00:45.469 My parents are Italian immigrants 0:00:45.493,0:00:48.583 who came to the United States[br]in the mid-1960s 0:00:48.607,0:00:51.296 and settled on the South Side of Chicago, 0:00:51.320,0:00:52.724 where they eventually met, 0:00:53.307,0:00:55.219 and opened a small beauty shop. 0:00:56.639,0:00:59.634 Right after I was born,[br]things got a little bit more difficult. 0:00:59.658,0:01:04.350 They struggled to survive with raising[br]a young family and a new business, 0:01:04.374,0:01:06.768 often working seven days a week, 0:01:07.259,0:01:09.057 14 hours a day, 0:01:09.081,0:01:12.556 taking on second and third jobs[br]just to earn a meager living. 0:01:13.210,0:01:16.612 And quality time with my parents[br]was pretty nonexistent. 0:01:17.176,0:01:19.557 Even though I knew[br]they loved me very much, 0:01:20.216,0:01:22.395 growing up, I felt abandoned. 0:01:23.297,0:01:26.256 I was lonely and I started to withdraw, 0:01:27.196,0:01:31.379 and then I started to resent my parents[br]and become very angry. 0:01:32.943,0:01:35.506 And as I was growing up,[br]through my teenage years, 0:01:35.530,0:01:39.572 I started to act out to try and get[br]attention from my parents. 0:01:41.032,0:01:43.566 And one day, when I was 14, 0:01:43.590,0:01:47.134 I was standing in an alley,[br]and I was smoking a joint, 0:01:47.791,0:01:52.834 and a man who was twice my age,[br]with a shaved head and tall black boots, 0:01:53.470,0:01:54.721 came up to me, 0:01:55.295,0:01:57.583 and he snatched the joint from my lips. 0:01:58.893,0:02:02.810 Then he put his hand on my shoulder[br]and he looked me in the eyes, 0:02:02.834,0:02:04.060 and he said, 0:02:04.933,0:02:07.952 "That's what the communists[br]and the Jews want you to do 0:02:07.976,0:02:09.345 to keep you docile." 0:02:11.330,0:02:12.512 I was 14 years old, 0:02:12.536,0:02:15.410 I'd been trading baseball cards[br]and watching "Happy Days" -- 0:02:15.434,0:02:17.208 I didn't really know what a Jew was. 0:02:17.232,0:02:19.002 (Laughter) 0:02:19.026,0:02:20.177 It's true. 0:02:20.201,0:02:24.176 And the only communist that I knew[br]was the bad Russian guy 0:02:24.200,0:02:26.068 in my favorite Rocky movie. 0:02:26.092,0:02:28.723 (Laughter) 0:02:28.747,0:02:30.978 And since I'm here[br]baring my soul with you, 0:02:31.002,0:02:34.994 I can reveal that I did not even know[br]what the word "docile" meant. 0:02:35.018,0:02:36.819 (Laughter) 0:02:36.843,0:02:38.048 Dead serious. 0:02:38.950,0:02:43.411 But it was as if this man in this alley[br]had offered me a lifeline. 0:02:43.435,0:02:47.711 For 14 years, I'd felt[br]marginalized and bullied. 0:02:48.247,0:02:49.910 I had low self-esteem. 0:02:50.632,0:02:54.428 And frankly, I didn't know[br]who I was, where I belonged, 0:02:54.452,0:02:56.457 or what my purpose was. 0:02:56.481,0:02:57.655 I was lost. 0:02:58.430,0:03:02.522 And overnight, because this man[br]had pulled me in, 0:03:02.546,0:03:07.151 and I had grabbed onto that lifeline[br]with every fiber of my being. 0:03:07.901,0:03:11.027 I had gone from "Joanie Loves Chachi" 0:03:12.264,0:03:14.258 to full-blown Nazi. 0:03:14.826,0:03:16.004 Overnight. 0:03:17.626,0:03:20.773 I started to listen to the rhetoric 0:03:20.797,0:03:21.952 and believe it. 0:03:22.518,0:03:26.880 I started to watch very closely[br]as the leaders of this organization 0:03:26.904,0:03:32.059 would target vulnerable young people[br]who felt marginalized 0:03:32.083,0:03:36.633 and then draw them in[br]with promises of paradise 0:03:36.657,0:03:37.861 that were broken. 0:03:39.691,0:03:42.256 And then I started to recruit myself. 0:03:43.099,0:03:46.883 I started to do that by making[br]white-power music. 0:03:48.299,0:03:53.564 And soon, I became the leader[br]of that infamous organization 0:03:53.588,0:03:56.216 that was led by that man in that alley 0:03:56.240,0:03:57.989 who recruited me that day, 0:03:58.013,0:04:02.744 who was America's first neo-Nazi skinhead[br]and who had radicalized me. 0:04:03.452,0:04:05.732 For the next eight years, 0:04:05.756,0:04:08.664 I believed the lies that I had been fed. 0:04:09.292,0:04:12.648 And though I saw[br]no evidence of it whatsoever, 0:04:12.672,0:04:16.895 I didn't hesitate to blame[br]every Jewish person in the world 0:04:16.919,0:04:21.052 for what I thought was a white,[br]European genocide 0:04:21.076,0:04:25.336 being promoted by them[br]through a multiculturalist agenda. 0:04:26.553,0:04:28.551 I blamed people of color 0:04:28.575,0:04:32.610 for the crime and violence[br]and the drugs in the city, 0:04:33.737,0:04:37.628 completely neglecting the fact[br]that I was committing acts of violence 0:04:37.652,0:04:38.897 on a daily basis, 0:04:39.558,0:04:41.230 and that in many cases, 0:04:41.254,0:04:44.224 it was white supremacists[br]who were funneling drugs 0:04:44.248,0:04:45.732 into the inner cities. 0:04:46.967,0:04:49.263 And I blamed immigrants 0:04:49.287,0:04:52.803 for taking jobs from white Americans, 0:04:52.827,0:04:57.798 completely neglecting the fact that[br]my parents were hardworking immigrants 0:04:57.822,0:04:59.907 who struggled to survive, 0:05:01.010,0:05:03.771 despite not getting help[br]from anybody else. 0:05:05.846,0:05:07.442 For the next eight years, 0:05:08.339,0:05:10.064 I saw friends die, 0:05:11.096,0:05:15.213 I saw others go to prison[br]and inflict untold pain 0:05:15.237,0:05:18.320 on countless victims[br]and their families' lives, 0:05:19.566,0:05:23.114 I heard horrific stories[br]from young women in the movement, 0:05:23.138,0:05:28.084 who'd been brutally raped by the very men[br]they were conditioned to trust, 0:05:29.957,0:05:33.115 and I myself committed acts[br]of violence against people, 0:05:33.139,0:05:35.667 solely for the color of their skin, 0:05:35.691,0:05:37.028 who they loved, 0:05:37.052,0:05:39.680 or the god that they prayed to. 0:05:41.315,0:05:45.186 I stockpiled weapons for what I thought[br]was an upcoming race war. 0:05:45.746,0:05:47.165 I went to six high schools; 0:05:47.189,0:05:48.866 I was kicked out of four of them, 0:05:48.890,0:05:50.319 one of them, twice. 0:05:51.641,0:05:56.544 And 25 years ago, I wrote[br]and performed racist music 0:05:58.044,0:06:00.714 that found its way[br]to the internet decades later 0:06:00.738,0:06:04.027 and partially inspired[br]a young white nationalist 0:06:04.051,0:06:08.552 to walk into a sacred Charleston,[br]South Carolina, church 0:06:08.576,0:06:12.683 and senselessly massacre[br]nine innocent people. 0:06:16.278,0:06:17.919 But then my life changed. 0:06:19.721,0:06:23.825 At 19 years old, I met a girl[br]who was not in the movement, 0:06:23.849,0:06:26.593 who didn't have a racist bone in her body, 0:06:27.708,0:06:29.207 and I fell in love with her. 0:06:30.279,0:06:32.030 And at 19, we got married, 0:06:32.920,0:06:34.885 and we had our first son. 0:06:36.425,0:06:40.073 And when I held my son in my arms[br]in the delivery room that day, 0:06:40.784,0:06:45.280 not only did I reconnect[br]with some of the innocence that I had lost 0:06:45.304,0:06:46.730 at 14 years old, 0:06:47.716,0:06:49.649 but it also began to challenge 0:06:49.673,0:06:53.882 the very important things that drew[br]me to the movement to begin with: 0:06:53.906,0:06:56.376 identity, community and purpose -- 0:06:56.400,0:06:59.914 things that I had been[br]struggling with as a young boy. 0:06:59.938,0:07:05.106 And now, I struggled with the concept[br]of who I was again. 0:07:05.130,0:07:09.740 Was I this neo-Nazi hatemonger, 0:07:10.674,0:07:13.430 or was I a caring father and husband? 0:07:14.932,0:07:18.588 Was my community the one[br]that I had manufactured around me 0:07:18.612,0:07:20.213 to boost my own ego, 0:07:20.982,0:07:25.493 because I felt self-hatred for myself[br]and I wanted to project it onto others, 0:07:26.597,0:07:30.617 or was it the one[br]that I had physically given life to? 0:07:31.918,0:07:34.874 Was my purpose to scorch the earth 0:07:36.134,0:07:39.689 or was it to make it[br]a better place for my family? 0:07:40.903,0:07:45.077 And suddenly, like a ton of bricks hit me, 0:07:45.101,0:07:50.481 I became very confused with[br]who I'd been for the last eight years. 0:07:52.026,0:07:55.350 And if only I'd been brave enough[br]to walk away at that moment, 0:07:55.374,0:08:00.942 to understand what the struggle was[br]that was happening inside of me, 0:08:01.715,0:08:04.956 then maybe tragedy[br]could have been averted. 0:08:05.916,0:08:07.835 Instead, I did compromise. 0:08:07.859,0:08:11.204 I took myself off the streets[br]for the benefit of my family, 0:08:11.228,0:08:15.204 because I was nervous that maybe[br]I could go to jail or end up dead, 0:08:15.228,0:08:17.321 and they would have to fend[br]for themselves. 0:08:18.086,0:08:19.668 So I stepped back as a leader, 0:08:19.692,0:08:22.331 and instead I opened a record store 0:08:23.092,0:08:27.243 that I was going to sell[br]white-power music in, of course, 0:08:27.267,0:08:29.388 because I was importing it in from Europe. 0:08:30.409,0:08:34.545 But I knew that if I was just[br]a racist store selling racist music, 0:08:34.569,0:08:37.591 the community would not[br]allow me to be there. 0:08:37.615,0:08:42.264 So I decided I was going to also[br]stock the shelves with other music, 0:08:42.288,0:08:44.744 like punk rock and heavy metal 0:08:44.768,0:08:46.015 and hip-hop. 0:08:46.925,0:08:49.456 And while the white-power music[br]that I was selling 0:08:49.480,0:08:51.891 was 75 percent of my gross revenue, 0:08:51.915,0:08:55.233 because people were driving in[br]from all over the country to buy it 0:08:55.257,0:08:57.396 from the only store that was selling it, 0:08:58.435,0:09:03.198 I also had customers come in[br]to buy the other music. 0:09:03.222,0:09:06.345 And eventually, they started[br]to talk to me. 0:09:07.387,0:09:11.842 One day, a young black teen came in, 0:09:11.866,0:09:13.605 and he was visibly upset. 0:09:15.076,0:09:17.406 And I decided to ask him what was wrong. 0:09:18.213,0:09:22.156 And he told me that his mother[br]had been diagnosed with breast cancer. 0:09:23.166,0:09:26.155 And suddenly, this young black teenager, 0:09:26.716,0:09:31.281 who I'd never had a meaningful[br]conversation or interaction with, 0:09:31.305,0:09:33.024 I was able to connect with, 0:09:33.048,0:09:37.053 because my own mother[br]had been diagnosed with breast cancer, 0:09:37.077,0:09:39.503 and I could feel his pain. 0:09:40.712,0:09:44.452 On another occasion, a gay couple[br]came in with their son, 0:09:44.476,0:09:49.393 and it was undeniable to me[br]that they loved their son 0:09:49.417,0:09:52.961 in the same profound ways[br]that I loved mine. 0:09:54.233,0:09:59.077 And suddenly, I couldn't rationalize[br]or justify the prejudice 0:09:59.101,0:10:00.535 that I had in my head. 0:10:01.869,0:10:04.681 I decided to pull the white-power[br]music from the inventory 0:10:04.705,0:10:08.064 when I became too embarrassed[br]to sell it in front of my new friends. 0:10:08.929,0:10:11.284 And of course, the store[br]couldn't sustain itself, 0:10:11.308,0:10:12.619 so I had to close it. 0:10:13.343,0:10:17.974 At that same time, I lost[br]nearly everything in my life. 0:10:18.484,0:10:20.988 I used it as an opportunity to walk away 0:10:21.012,0:10:23.870 from the movement that[br]I'd been a part of for eight years, 0:10:23.894,0:10:28.296 the only identity, community and purpose[br]that I'd really known for most of my life. 0:10:28.949,0:10:30.535 So I had nobody. 0:10:31.731,0:10:34.327 I lost my livelihood[br]because I closed the store. 0:10:34.351,0:10:38.337 I didn't have a great relationship[br]with my parents, even though they tried. 0:10:38.891,0:10:40.888 And my wife and children left me, 0:10:40.912,0:10:44.577 because I hadn't left the movement[br]and disengaged quickly enough. 0:10:46.040,0:10:47.224 And suddenly, 0:10:49.117,0:10:51.048 I didn't know who I was again, 0:10:51.072,0:10:52.332 or where I fit in 0:10:53.044,0:10:55.414 or what my purpose was supposed to be. 0:10:56.034,0:10:58.351 I was miserable inside, 0:10:58.959,0:11:01.914 and I often woke up in the morning 0:11:01.938,0:11:03.422 wishing that I hadn't. 0:11:05.590,0:11:07.330 About five years in, 0:11:07.354,0:11:11.200 one of the few friends that I had[br]was concerned about my well-being, 0:11:11.224,0:11:13.107 and she came to me and she said, 0:11:13.131,0:11:16.490 "You need to do something,[br]because I don't want to see you die." 0:11:17.982,0:11:21.610 And she suggested that I go[br]apply for a job where she worked, 0:11:21.634,0:11:23.433 at a company called IBM. 0:11:25.158,0:11:27.211 Yeah, I thought she was crazy, too. 0:11:27.235,0:11:28.920 (Laughter) 0:11:28.944,0:11:33.519 Here I was, a closeted ex-Nazi[br]covered in hate tattoos. 0:11:33.543,0:11:34.775 I didn't go to college. 0:11:34.799,0:11:38.874 I'd been kicked out of multiple[br]high schools multiple times. 0:11:40.071,0:11:41.670 I didn't even own a computer. 0:11:43.384,0:11:44.640 But I went in, 0:11:44.664,0:11:48.294 and somehow, miraculously, I got the job. 0:11:49.636,0:11:51.202 I was thrilled. 0:11:52.218,0:11:54.855 And then I became terrified to learn 0:11:54.879,0:11:58.440 that they'd actually be putting me[br]back at my old high school, 0:11:58.464,0:12:00.939 the same one I got kicked out of twice, 0:12:01.892,0:12:03.341 to install their computers. 0:12:04.483,0:12:07.990 This was a high school[br]where I had committed acts of violence 0:12:08.014,0:12:10.466 against students, against faculty; 0:12:10.490,0:12:14.630 where I had protested out in front[br]of the school for equal rights for whites, 0:12:14.654,0:12:17.733 and even had a sit-in in the cafeteria 0:12:17.757,0:12:20.251 to try and demand a white student union. 0:12:22.039,0:12:24.647 And of course, as karma would have it, 0:12:25.289,0:12:27.124 within the first couple of hours, 0:12:27.676,0:12:31.598 who walks right by me[br]but Mr. Johnny Holmes, 0:12:31.622,0:12:35.008 the tough black security guard[br]I had gotten in a fistfight with, 0:12:36.016,0:12:38.056 that got me kicked out the second time 0:12:38.080,0:12:40.494 and led out in handcuffs from the school. 0:12:41.763,0:12:43.378 He didn't recognize me, 0:12:44.251,0:12:45.483 but I saw him, 0:12:46.404,0:12:47.806 and I didn't know what to do. 0:12:47.830,0:12:51.473 I was frozen; I was this grown man now,[br]years out of the movement, 0:12:51.497,0:12:53.578 and I was sweating and I was trembling. 0:12:54.533,0:12:56.687 But I decided I had to do something. 0:12:57.902,0:13:01.701 And I decided I needed to suffer[br]under the weight of my past, 0:13:01.725,0:13:04.396 because for five years[br]I had tried to outrun it. 0:13:05.105,0:13:08.409 I'd tried to make new friends[br]and cover my tattoos with long sleeves, 0:13:08.433,0:13:09.600 and I wouldn't admit it, 0:13:09.624,0:13:11.446 because I was afraid of being judged 0:13:11.470,0:13:13.711 the same way I had judged other people. 0:13:14.862,0:13:18.846 Well, I decided I was going to chase[br]Mr. Holmes out to the parking lot -- 0:13:18.870,0:13:21.373 probably not the smartest[br]decision that I made. 0:13:21.397,0:13:22.668 (Laughter) 0:13:22.692,0:13:25.206 But when I found him,[br]he was getting into his car, 0:13:25.230,0:13:27.203 and I tapped him on the shoulder. 0:13:27.227,0:13:30.383 And when he turned around[br]and he recognized me, 0:13:30.407,0:13:32.974 he took a step back because he was afraid. 0:13:34.907,0:13:36.534 And I didn't know what to say. 0:13:38.088,0:13:42.128 Finally, the words came out of my mouth,[br]and all I could think to say was, 0:13:42.152,0:13:43.313 "I'm sorry." 0:13:44.096,0:13:45.572 And he embraced me, 0:13:46.391,0:13:47.820 and he forgave me. 0:13:49.877,0:13:52.843 And he encouraged me to forgive myself. 0:13:54.073,0:14:00.163 He recognized that it wasn't the story[br]of some broken go-nowhere kid 0:14:00.187,0:14:03.203 who was going to just[br]join a gang and go to prison. 0:14:03.227,0:14:07.750 He knew that this was the story[br]of every young person who was vulnerable, 0:14:07.774,0:14:10.582 who was searching for identity,[br]community and purpose, 0:14:10.606,0:14:12.012 and then hit a wall 0:14:12.036,0:14:13.758 and was unable to find it 0:14:13.782,0:14:15.529 and went down a dark path. 0:14:17.482,0:14:19.575 And he made me promise one thing, 0:14:19.599,0:14:22.827 that I would tell my story[br]to whoever would listen. 0:14:22.851,0:14:24.433 That was 18 years ago, 0:14:24.457,0:14:26.255 and I've been doing it ever since. 0:14:26.737,0:14:31.611 (Applause) 0:14:37.309,0:14:39.277 You might be asking yourself right now: 0:14:39.301,0:14:42.323 How does a good kid from[br]a hardworking immigrant family 0:14:42.347,0:14:45.190 end up going down such a dark path? 0:14:45.214,0:14:47.894 One word: potholes. 0:14:48.508,0:14:50.226 That's right. Potholes. 0:14:50.250,0:14:52.783 I had a lot of potholes when I was kid. 0:14:53.582,0:14:55.127 We all had them -- 0:14:55.151,0:14:58.021 you know, the things in life that we hit, 0:14:58.045,0:15:00.971 that invariably just kind of[br]nudge us off our path, 0:15:00.995,0:15:02.677 and if they remain unresolved 0:15:03.442,0:15:04.681 or untreated 0:15:05.697,0:15:07.118 or not dealt with, 0:15:07.792,0:15:11.555 sometimes we can get dangerously lost[br]down pretty dark corridors. 0:15:12.228,0:15:14.411 Potholes can be things like trauma, 0:15:14.435,0:15:16.852 abuse, unemployment, 0:15:17.667,0:15:18.826 neglect, 0:15:19.652,0:15:21.844 untreated mental health conditions, 0:15:21.868,0:15:23.059 even privilege. 0:15:23.942,0:15:27.090 And if we hit enough potholes[br]on our journey in life, 0:15:27.696,0:15:31.436 and we don't have the resources[br]or the help to navigate around them 0:15:31.460,0:15:32.677 or to pull us out, 0:15:34.184,0:15:37.357 well, sometimes good people[br]end up doing bad things. 0:15:40.026,0:15:43.165 One such person[br]who had potholes is Darrell. 0:15:43.189,0:15:44.980 Darrell is from upstate New York. 0:15:45.495,0:15:47.620 He had read my memoir, 0:15:47.644,0:15:50.341 and he was really upset about the ending. 0:15:50.365,0:15:52.271 You see, I'd gotten out of the movement, 0:15:52.295,0:15:53.725 and he was still in. 0:15:53.749,0:15:57.456 And he emailed me and he said, 0:15:57.480,0:15:59.818 "I didn't really like the way[br]that turned out." 0:15:59.842,0:16:01.556 And I said, "Well, I'm sorry." 0:16:01.580,0:16:03.209 (Laughter) 0:16:03.233,0:16:06.224 "But if you want to talk about it,[br]we could certainly do that." 0:16:06.248,0:16:09.466 And after a couple of weeks[br]of going back and forth with Darrell, 0:16:09.490,0:16:14.570 I learned he was a 31-year-old[br]military veteran who had been injured 0:16:14.594,0:16:18.333 and was really angry about[br]not being able to go to Afghanistan 0:16:18.357,0:16:19.658 to kill Muslims. 0:16:20.741,0:16:22.066 And one day on the phone, 0:16:22.090,0:16:26.279 he told me that he had seen[br]a Muslim man in the park praying, 0:16:26.303,0:16:30.190 and that all he wanted to do[br]was kick him in the face. 0:16:31.377,0:16:33.126 I flew to Buffalo the next day, 0:16:33.968,0:16:35.642 and I sat down with Darrell, 0:16:36.515,0:16:37.707 and I asked him, 0:16:38.343,0:16:41.548 "Have you ever met[br]a Muslim person before?" 0:16:42.168,0:16:43.714 And he said, "No! 0:16:43.738,0:16:45.569 Why the hell would I want to do that? 0:16:45.593,0:16:48.142 They're evil. I don't want[br]anything to do with them." 0:16:49.067,0:16:50.497 I said, "OK." 0:16:50.521,0:16:52.943 So I excused myself[br]and I went into the bathroom 0:16:52.967,0:16:55.201 and I took my phone out in the bathroom, 0:16:55.225,0:16:57.118 and I Googled the local mosque, 0:16:57.977,0:17:00.264 and I called them very quietly[br]from the bathroom, 0:17:00.288,0:17:04.246 and I said, "Excuse me,[br]Imam, I need a favor. 0:17:04.270,0:17:05.421 I have a Christian man 0:17:05.445,0:17:08.251 who would really love to learn more[br]about your religion." 0:17:08.275,0:17:10.960 (Laughter) 0:17:10.984,0:17:12.722 "Do you mind if we stop by?" 0:17:14.278,0:17:16.992 Well, it took some convincing[br]for Darrell to go, 0:17:17.016,0:17:19.018 but finally we got there, 0:17:19.042,0:17:20.548 and when I knocked on the door, 0:17:20.572,0:17:23.662 the imam said he only had[br]15 minutes left for us, 0:17:23.686,0:17:26.236 because he was preparing[br]for a prayer service. 0:17:26.260,0:17:27.457 I said, "We'll take it." 0:17:28.252,0:17:29.410 We went in, 0:17:29.434,0:17:34.617 and two and a half hours later,[br]we came out after hugging and crying 0:17:34.641,0:17:38.613 and, very strangely,[br]bonding over Chuck Norris for some reason. 0:17:38.637,0:17:39.687 (Laughter) 0:17:39.711,0:17:41.643 I don't know what it was about that, 0:17:41.667,0:17:43.059 but that's what happened. 0:17:44.459,0:17:47.559 And I'm happy to say now[br]that Darrell and the imam, 0:17:47.583,0:17:50.019 you can often find them[br]at the local falafel stand, 0:17:50.043,0:17:51.658 having lunch together. 0:17:51.682,0:17:55.447 (Applause) 0:18:00.418,0:18:02.959 You see, it's our disconnection[br]from each other. 0:18:02.983,0:18:05.226 Hatred is born of ignorance. 0:18:05.250,0:18:09.329 Fear is its father,[br]and isolation is its mother. 0:18:09.353,0:18:13.330 When we don't understand something,[br]we tend to be afraid of it, 0:18:13.354,0:18:15.073 and if we keep ourselves from it, 0:18:15.097,0:18:18.244 that fear grows, and sometimes,[br]it turns into hatred. 0:18:19.120,0:18:22.119 Since I've left the movement,[br]I've helped over a hundred people 0:18:22.143,0:18:25.461 disengage from extremist movements,[br]from white supremacist groups -- 0:18:25.485,0:18:29.295 (Applause) 0:18:34.278,0:18:35.804 to even jihadist groups. 0:18:35.828,0:18:40.385 And the way I do that[br]is not by arguing with them, 0:18:40.409,0:18:41.926 not by debating them, 0:18:41.950,0:18:44.239 not by even telling them they're wrong, 0:18:44.263,0:18:46.496 even though, boy, I want to sometimes. 0:18:46.520,0:18:47.794 I don't do that. 0:18:48.334,0:18:50.862 Instead, I don't push them away. 0:18:50.886,0:18:52.521 I draw them in closer, 0:18:53.220,0:18:57.583 and I listen very closely[br]for their potholes, 0:18:58.345,0:19:00.014 and then I begin to fill them in. 0:19:00.657,0:19:02.913 I try to make people more resilient, 0:19:02.937,0:19:04.441 more self-confident, 0:19:04.841,0:19:08.870 more able to have skills[br]to compete in the marketplace 0:19:08.894,0:19:11.566 so that they don't have[br]to blame the other, 0:19:12.764,0:19:14.588 the other that they've never met. 0:19:15.758,0:19:19.558 I'd like to just leave you[br]with one last thing before I go. 0:19:20.915,0:19:24.438 Of all the people I've worked with,[br]they will all tell you the same thing. 0:19:24.462,0:19:28.054 One, they became extremists 0:19:28.078,0:19:31.912 because they wanted to belong,[br]not because of ideology or dogma. 0:19:32.787,0:19:35.415 And second, what brought them out 0:19:36.290,0:19:38.192 was receiving compassion 0:19:38.216,0:19:40.559 from the people[br]they least deserved it from, 0:19:41.247,0:19:42.900 when they least deserved it. 0:19:42.924,0:19:45.021 (Applause) 0:19:45.045,0:19:47.355 So I would like[br]to leave you with a challenge: 0:19:47.801,0:19:51.307 go out there today, tomorrow --[br]hopefully every day -- 0:19:52.052,0:19:56.724 find somebody that you think[br]is undeserving of your compassion 0:19:56.748,0:19:57.932 and give it to them, 0:19:58.694,0:20:00.083 because I guarantee you, 0:20:00.107,0:20:02.015 they're the ones who need it the most. 0:20:02.554,0:20:03.866 Thank you very much. 0:20:03.890,0:20:05.853 (Applause)